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Singapore Math

With Singapore Math, the pace can accelerate by fourth and fifth grades, putting children as much as a year ahead of students in other math programs as they grasp complex problems more quickly.

Saint Edward’s has adopted the globally successful Singapore Mathematics program. Through this teacher guided program, students gain knowledge and skills, and develop an understanding of math through experience. The curriculum is structured to provide multiple exposures to topics and frequent opportunities for guided practice with the use of the textbook, workbook, and practice book.

The primary differences or advantage of the Singapore math program is that Singapore texts and teaching styles prioritize development of mathematical reasoning skills, concrete number sense, and an automaticity of number facts. And the results speak for themselves. The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) provides data on the mathematics and science achievement of U.S. 4th- and 8th-grade students compared to that of students in other countries. TIMSS data have been collected in 1995, 1999, 2003, and 2007. (http://nces.ed.gov/timss/) Singapore students who took TIMSS in 1995, 1999 and 2003 scored 1st place in both 4th and 8th grade for all three of these studies.

In the Lower School new skills are taught using variety of visual and manipulative materials including, but not limited to, digi-blocks, base ten blocks, dice, Cuisenaire Rods, geoboards, origami, and tangrams. In the upper grades of the Lower School Students have the opportunity to participate in the Continental Mathematics League, the Florida Elementary Math League contests. Mental math practice is integrated throughout the curriculum. There is continuing practice on real life applications of mathematics, such as writing and recording checks in a checkbook.

Middle School continues the teaching of the Singapore Mathematics Program through Pre-Algebra and Algebra I. Math teaching methodologies include direct instruction and small-group instruction. The use of technology in the form of tablet computing through PowerPoint, Excel, and Microsoft applications further illustrates mathematical concepts. Students are encouraged to become independent learners who intuitively use higher order thinking skills in their problem solving and communicate their thoughts effectively.